6MT Towing 3rd

I hope this thread isn't another repeat of other things on the forums but I couldn't find any threads with information about towing with the 3.5 and 6MT.

So for y'all who tow with your 6MT & 3.5L trucks what are some rules of thumb y'all have, ie. Stay out of 5th and 6th gears and anything else yall do.

Recently towed a polaris ranger 900 about 15 min from the house. Not sure about dimensions of trailer but I think it was a 6x12 single axle. No trailer brakes.

Not sure about the tounge weight either but I think it was a bit more than the truck was rated for but I had no problems. The ranger weighs approximately 1,325lbs dry and I reckon the trailer weighed about 1000lbs. So 2500lbs doesn't seem like too much to me.

Does anyone know the tounge rating for DCSB 6mt trucks? Max towing capacity etc.

 

I have towed a camper all over the place mine is a 2011 but it the same gearbox zero issues. The towing sec are in the owners manual.

 

Your 2nd gen has an Aisin RC-62F?

 

6th gear is an extremely high final ratio, not too many towing situations you'd want to use it anyway.

 

I pull my 5,500 lbs camper and most of the time I'm in 5th but if the conditions are right 6th can happen.

 

Yep, surprised me in a good way what this little thing will do.

 

I never asked it what it was it is overdriven in 5 and 6th just like the newer Tacomas.

 

My truck is rated for 6,500# personally I think that is ridiculous weight for a truck that's 1 ton lighter electric brakes or not. If you get sideways with something like that it will be a clear cut example of the tail wagging the dog.

 

Why not?

 

Fair enough, but it's not really the same gearbox.

 

It's actually a pretty standard ratio on the manual and ratios in the mid/low .70's were pretty standard OD gears when everything had a 5sp. Paired with the 4.30 and it's actually better than most.

Point still stands though and I'd never tow that low. I've definitely used 5th in the right conditions though and only with ~3500 lbs or so.

You know how a 4Lo transfer case gear reduction multiplies torque to the wheels? That's also known as underdrive. Overdrive does the exact opposite and reduces the torque to the wheels which, as you can imagine, isn't ideal for towing.

 

It's all about final (total) ratio, not just OD. These things have a 4.30 rear end in them which is absurdly short gearing from the factory so the .85 5th gear is better than towing in a 1:1 4th gear with 3.55's that were common in many other trucks.

5th gear should be absolutely fine up to a few thousand pounds assuming you're not trying to hold 80 mph or climb. Even 6th should be doable on downhills and flats with a tailwind on many roads.

 

I feel like you could easily tell by feel (or how hard the engine is working) which gears are appropriate to use - as it's going to vary based on load and terrain and wind, altitude, gasoline quality, etc etc etc

 

I absolutely agree. I tow a Tab 400 camper--dry weight 2800 lbs.--and mostly tow in 5th, but downhill and on flat roads when at speed I can do 6th without any major effort. Going uphill requires 4th usually. I don't think you're going to get much MPG benefit from occasionally being able to drive in 6th gear though--I consistently got a bit over 16 MPG.

I rarely drive any faster than 70--speeds over that will eat up gas mileage exponentially, so you have to decide if getting someplace sooner is worth the extra cost in gas.

Not sure if this makes a huge difference, but I usually get 89 octane gas for the Tacoma.

 

Correct, so what OD means the engines turns slower fuel mileage goes up less engine wear (and noise). Now there is no earthly reason you can't use a higher gear if the revs are there to match the load ie flat land. The biggest issue with a camper/trailer is wind resistance not so much the weight. My 4L does not like to be loaded under about 2,000 RPM it's out of it's torque band so what to do? Shift out of 6th as you climb the hill. I live in the mountains quite often I'm down to 3 gear to keep the engine in the torque band pulling my camper. A manual is not like an automatic where heating is an issue as it's best to keep it in at least lockup.

 

From what I've read/understand you should mostly be sticking to 4th gear as that is your 1:1. Sparingly, on long, flat, level highways you could go into 5th to try to help with the MPG, but hit any ups and downs and you would want to be back in 4th again.

Hoping to have a camper myself to start pulling in the next couple weeks, so I'll find out soon enough how it feels!

 

I have no idea why anyone would want to do that. You are the one in control of the transmission. These things are not fragile little flowers it's a truck.

 

There is little torque advantage in the highest gears, and since the engine is spinning slower it is making less power and working harder to try to keep the load moving. Plus, slower engine RPMs with high load heat the engine up easier and make cooling harder because your water pump is spinning slower. this is why 4th and sometimes 5th are recommended because your engine is making is making power more comfortably and can cool more efficiently.

 

owners manual recommends no higher than 5th gear for the 6MT and 6AT and no faster than 65mph. I would use 4th if loaded very heavily and would also keep my speed at about 55mph so your engine isn't screaming at 3k+RPMs for hundreds of miles.

 

As @specter208 said, it's about keeping the engine in the right RPM range for towing properly as well as in an ideal torque band. Also if something bad happens you have much better control and a bit of engine braking by keeping it in 4th rather than in one of your OD gears. Especially for something heavy and/or big like a camper (which is pretty much a brick wall in the wind), I'd rather sacrifice a bit of MPG for control and knowing my engine is in a good towing range. Like I said, if I was on a nice level, straight part of the road I'd go into 5th, but I don't think I'd ever want to go up to 6th with a load, and keep it around 60-65 MPH max as well. You do you though, it is your truck, and I'll do what I think is best for mine. As you said, I'm in control!